Before we learn about thongs, let's take a moment to learn
a little bit about "modesty".

Modesty and demureness is a mode of dress
and deportment intended to avoid encouraging sexual attraction in others; actual
standards vary widely. In this use, it can be considered inappropriate or immodest
to reveal certain parts of the body. Standards of modesty discourage or forbid
exposure of parts of the body, varying between societies, which may include areas
of skin, the hair, undergarments, and intimate parts. The standards may also require
obscuring the shape of the body or parts of it by wearing non-form-fitting clothing.
Standards of modesty vary by culture or generation and vary depending on who is
exposed, which parts of the body are exposed, the duration of the exposure, the
context, and other variables.

If you are a modest person, please turn back. The below
discussion is regarding thong underwear and swimwear which can be revealing.

The thong is a type of garment generally worn as
either underwear or as swimwear. Viewed from the front, the
thong typically resembles a bikini bottom, but at
the back the material is reduced. The thong underwear or swimwear leaves part
or most of the buttocks uncovered. The back of the garment typically consists
of a thin waistband and a thin strip of material, designed to be worn between the
buttocks, that connects the middle of the waistband with the bottom front of the
garment.

Types of thongs include the traditional thong, the G-string,
and the C-string. There are a number of intermediate kinds of thongs between full
rear coverage and a string rear. As designs become more risqué there are also types
intended to expose genitals as much as they conceal them.

Example of C String Thong

Example of T Back Thong

Example of V String Thong

Thongs are available in a wide assortment of fiber content
and fabrication, including silk, cotton, microfiber, satin, nylon, and lycra/spandex.
They are generally produced as a knit fabric to offer a bit of stretch to the fabric,
but they can also be made with woven fabrics.

Thong Undgerwear

Undergarments or underwear are items of clothing worn beneath
outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise
more than a single layer. Undergarments commonly worn by females today include bras
and panties, while males often wear briefs, boxer briefs or boxer shorts. Items
commonly worn by both sexes include T-shirts, sleeveless shirts (also called singlets
or tank tops), bikini underwear, thongs, and G-strings. A
thong underwear is very revealing with little fabric on the back side. A g-string
type of thong consists of a narrow piece of material that covers or holds the genitals,
passes between the buttocks, and is attached to a string around the hips. The smallest
of the underpants.

Thong Swimwear

Swimwear is clothing designed to be worn by people engaging
in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, diving and surfing,
or sun-orientated activities, such as sun bathing. There is a very wide range
of styles of modern swimsuits available, which vary as to body coverage and materials.
The choice of style may depend on community standards of modesty, as well as current
fashions and personal preferences. In western culture, men's swimsuit styles
include boardshorts, jammers, swim trunks, briefs or "speedos", thongs,
and g-strings, in order of decreasing lower body coverage. Women's swimsuits are
generally described as one-piece, bikinis, or thongs. Swimsuits
can be skin-tight or loose-fitting. They are often lined with another layer of fabric
if the outer fabric becomes transparent when wet. Swimsuits range from designs that
almost completely cover the body to designs that expose almost all of the body.
The choice of swimsuit will depend on personal and community standards of modesty
and on considerations such as how much or how little sun protection is desired,
and prevailing fashions. The thong style is very revealing on the back side.

Types of thongs:

V-string is a type of G-string, in which
the string is connected to the waistband by a triangle that is just above the buttocks.
The string connects with the waistband directly to form a "V" shape at back.

C-string is as narrow as a G-string, but
without the supporting "string" around the wearer's hips/panty line, leaving just
a sideways C shaped piece between the legs. This is held in place firmly by a flexible
internal frame. Since there is no material around the waist, the C-string completely
eliminates the panty lines which thongs and other underwear create. C-strings are
also designed for use as beachwear, which reduces the tan lines that would have
been left by the side straps of even a G or V-String.

Cheeky is a slightly more conservative style
of thong which covers a little more area, but exposes the bottom part of the buttocks.
Some cheekies are used as undergarments while others function as bikini bottoms.
Often they have a band at the waist.

Are men's thongs and women's thongs the same?

The most significant difference between thongs designed for
men and women is the shape of the front part of the garment. Often, but not always,
thongs for men will feature a vertical seam to create shape and space for the male
genitalia, and the pouch may be made of stretchy material (usually cotton-Lycra
or microfiber) for an ergonomic fit. The equivalent section in women's thongs is
normally flat and seamless.

Is a g-string and thong the same thing?

One type of thong is the
G-string, the back of which consists
only of a (typically elasticized) string.[2] The two terms G-string and thong are
often used interchangeably; however, they can refer to distinct pieces of clothing.
Thongs come in a variety of styles depending on the thickness, material, or type
of the rear portion of fabric and are available for both men and women throughout
most of the world. The G-string style consists of an elastic string (also
a narrow piece of cloth, leather, or plastic) that connects the front/pouch and
the waistband at back, worn as swimwear or underwear mostly by women, but also by
men.

The term thong is also used as a descriptive term in other
types of garment, such as a bodysuit, bodystocking, leotard, or one-piece swimsuit
in the context "thong backed."

A thong may also be worn for traditional ceremonies or competitions,
such as sumo wrestling. In the past, wrestlers would wear
loose loincloths rather than the much stiffer mawashi wrestling belts of today.
a mawashi is the belt (loincloth) that the rikishi (or sumo wrestler) wears during
training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a keshō-mawashi
as part of the ring entry ceremony or dohyō-iri.

History of the thong:

The thong, like its probable predecessor the loincloth, is
believed to be one of the earliest forms of human clothing and is also thought to
have been worn mostly or exclusively by men. It is thought the thong was probably
originally developed to protect, support, or hide the male genitals. The loincloth
is probably the earliest form of clothing used by mankind, having originated in
the warmer climates of sub-Saharan Africa where clothing was first worn nearly 75,000
years ago. Many tribal peoples, such as some of the Khoisan people of southern Africa,
wore thongs for many centuries. Much like the Japanese fundoshi, these early garments
were made with the male genitalia in mind.

A loincloth is a one-piece garment, sometimes
kept in place by a belt. It covers the genitals and, at least partially, the buttocks.

Attitudes toward the wearing of thongs vary geographically
and across societies, as is usual with highly revealing clothing. Prior to
its entrance into mainstream fashion, g-strings were primarily worn by exotic dancers.
In the modern Western world, g-strings are more commonly marketed towards females
but are worn by both sexes. By the late 1980s, the style (for females) had made
its way into most of the Western world; thong and g-string underwear became more
and more popular through the 1990s due to shows like Baywatch, where numerous females
were recorded wearing thong swimsuits.

Other types of clothing that can be considered to
be a type of thong:

A dance belt is a type of thong designed
to be used in the same manner as an athletic supporter, but for male dancers (especially
in ballet). Its purpose is to protect and support the dancer during dance
activities without being seen through outer garments, such as tights, leotard, gym
leggings or shorts. Thongs tend to offer better support for the male anatomy than
do other underwear styles (as well as eliminating contact between the genitals and
inner thighs) and is one of the reasons why men and boys may choose to wear them.

Fundoshi is the traditional Japanese undergarment
for adult males, made from a length of cotton. Before World War II, the fundoshi
was the main form of underwear for Japanese adult males. However, it fell out of
use quickly after the war with the introduction of new underwear to the Japanese
market, such as briefs and trunks. Nowadays, the fundoshi is mainly used not as
underwear but as festival (matsuri) clothing at Hadaka Matsuri or, sometimes, as
swimwear. There are many other varieties of fundoshi as the variations on the principle
of a loincloth are almost infinite. For example, the mokko-fundoshi (literally "earth-basket
loincloth" because it looks like the traditional baskets used in construction) is
made like the etchyuu-fundoshi but without a front apron; the cloth is secured to
the belt to make a bikini effect. The kuro-neko fundoshi (literally "black cat fundoshi")
is like the mokko-fundoshi except that the portion that passes from front to back
is tailored to create a thong effect.

A jockstrap (also known as a jock, jock
strap, strap, supporter, or athletic supporter) is an undergarment designed for
supporting the male genitalia during sports or other vigorous physical activity.
A jockstrap consists of a waistband (usually elastic) with a support pouch for the
genitalia and two elastic straps affixed to the base of the pouch and to the left
and right sides of the waistband at the hip. The pouch, in some varieties, may be
fitted with a pocket to hold an impact resistant cup to protect the testicles and/or
the penis from injury.

Kaupinam is a thong worn in India, by some
men as a loincloth or underclothing. It is made up of rectangular strip of cotton
cloth which is used to cover the genitals with the help of the strings connected
to the four ends of the cloth for binding it around the waist of the wearer. It
is used by wrestlers in the game of Kushti or traditional Indian Wrestling in the
Akhaada (Wrestling Ring) and also during practice sessions and training.

Maebari (前貼り) are strapless Japanese loincloth
garments in the form of an adhesive strip covering the genitalia. Maebari are attached
like pasties and because they do not have a clamping frame extension past the perineum
(unlike the c-string design), the anus area is usually left exposed. Although conventional
use for maebari in Japan is as underwear, in foreign swimwear designs named strapless
bikini or no string bikini by various manufacturers, maebari-style bottoms are used
with matching pasties (tops).

Thong Shoes Flip-flops are a type of open-toed
footwear sandal, typically worn as a form of casual wear. They consist of a flat
sole held loosely on the foot by a Y-shaped strap or thong that passes between the
first and second toes and around both sides of the foot. The name "flip-flop" originated
from the sound made by the slapping of the sole, foot and floor when walking.
Thong sandals have been worn for thousands of years, dating back to pictures of
them in ancient Egyptian murals from 4,000 BC. A pair found in Europe was made of
papyrus leaves and dated to be approximately 1,500 years old. These early versions
of flip-flops were made from a wide variety of materials. Ancient Egyptian sandals
were made from papyrus and palm leaves. The Masai of Africa made them out of rawhide.
In India, they were made from wood. In China and Japan, rice straw was used. The
leaves of the sisal plant were used to make twine for sandals in South America,
while the natives of Mexico used the yucca plant. The Ancient Greeks and Romans
wore versions of flip-flops as well. In Greek sandals, the toe strap was worn between
the first and second toes, while Roman sandals had the strap between the second
and third toes. These differ from the sandals worn by the Mesopotamians, with the
strap between the third and fourth toes. In India, a related chappal ("toe knob")
sandal was common, with no straps but a small knob sitting between the first and
second toes. They are known as Padukas. The modern flip-flop became popular
in the United States as soldiers returning from World War II brought Japanese zōri
with them.